Blooming Love
by ComicsMerger78
Summary: Takes place post Season 3 pre season 4 after the fiasco that happened to him over a year ago Bruce’s clone is abandoned and left for dead until A certain redhead finds him but realizes Bruce is very different. (OC x Ivy Pepper)


The clone bolted up into a sitting position. Blue eyes dart around the unfamiliar room. Panicking, he rolled off the bed? -table- and searched for an escape route.

"Wooooow! Hold your horses cowboy. You're safe."

He took several steps back, eyeing the brunette female with emerald eyes. "Who are you?"

"Aww come on Bruce, I haven't changed that much have I?" She looked down at herself, "Then again I guess I have. Hmmm." She shrugged and set a small bottle down on the table. "Sorry about that, I tried everything to wake you prior to using ammonia inhalants."

The clone spotted a shovel on the ground and quickly picked it up. He kept it raised, ready to swing if the young woman advanced on him.

The sight has the dark redhead laughing. "Haha, cute." She crossed her arms and clicked her tongue, "Tsk, tsk, is that anyway to treat the woman who saved your life? If I wanted you dead, I could've just left you in that abandoned grocery store you were dying

Bruce blinked and he looked down, taking a few moments to recall recent events.

Memories were getting harder and harder to keep.

"You saved me? Why?" Bruce looked back up at the woman and lowered the shovel.

"Because we're friends, duh." She rolled her eyes, "Well you were mostly Selina's friend. Tell me, where is that cat? She the one who gave you those bruises on your neck?"

"Bruises?" The clone absentmindedly covered his neck with one hand. "I haven't seen Selina in awhile..." He eyed the woman wearily.

The woman was having fun watching Bruce's reactions; the confused expression on his face was adorable. "Good, maybe she smartened up and finally left the city." She pushed away from the table and walked closer to Bruce.

The clone took a few steps back, grip tightening on the handle of the shovel. "Stay away."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. My babies are very protective of their mommy." She grew nearer.

Bruce raised the shovel.

Without warning, 2 long vines snaked their way down from the ceiling and wrapped around the shovel.

"What the!?" Bruce looked up when the plants yanked the shovel from his grip.

Additional plants wrapped themselves around Bruce's ankles.

Alarmed, Bruce tried to pull away.

"The more you struggle, they more they squeeze." She motioned to the plants with a head tilt.

Bruce stopped moving and he lowered his hands to his sides. He stared at the woman, who was standing directly in front of him. "Okay. I won't struggle but what is it you want from me?"

"Smart boy." She tapped her right heel against the ground.

The plants let go of Bruce's ankles.

"You really don't know WHO I am?" She inquired.

Bruce glanced down and then back up. "No...I'm sorry."

"Meh, it's okay." She shrugged, "I mean the last time you saw me I was hitting on you in a club but you were too intoxicated to notice. It's not every day a girl goes from 13 years old to 20 in a single day." She watched Bruce's face to see if there was any recognition.

Bruce blinked but he didn't catch on to the hint.

Rolling her eyes at Bruce's vacuity, the woman blurted out in frustration: "It's ME Bruce! Ivy Pepper."

The yelling surprised Bruce, making him take a step back. "Ivy Pepper?... They never told me about you."

"They?" Ivy repeated looking confused, "Who?"

"Kathryn and Talon...The order, they didn't mention an Ivy Pepper in Bruce's life."

"Oh great, you're referring to yourself in the 3rd person. You must've hit your head pretty hard." Ivy said.

Bruce's eyebrows knit together, he's almost tempted to explain his situation and how he's just a clone but the explanation was lengthy.

A monarch butterfly appeared and it fluttered past the 2 individuals speaking.

Bruce loses all interest in the conversation and he watched the colorful insect in awe.

Ivy quirked an eyebrow and she glanced from Bruce to the butterfly, then back to Bruce. "You act like this is your first time seeing a butterfly."

"It is..." Bruce mumbled, gaze never leaving the butterfly as it moved.

"Huh?...That's...weird. You're weird Bruce." Ivy shook her head.

"Maybe so." Bruce nonchalantly agreed. He appeared sad when the butterfly disappeared around the corner of the room.

"Hmph...but you're still cute." Ivy reached up and dusted some debris off of Bruce's shoulder, "Really! nobody's ever said to me before, thank you!" He said, causing Ivy to smile at him "Well someone's still a gentleman, cute, smart, and forgiving, I can see why Selina still has a crush on you."

Bruce looked at Ivy, "She does? She told me she didn't like Bruce like that..."

"Okay this whole 3rd person thing has GOT to stop, okay?" Ivy pinched Bruce's left cheekbone, making the boy squirm. "If you enjoyed that butterfly, wait till you see the rest Brucie~" Ivy turned around and her green heels carried her across the room. She motioned with her index finger, "Follow me. I'll give you the grand tour."

Without questioning her intentions, the clone followed the slight older woman across the room and into a hallway. He glanced around, noticing how plants clung to the walls. "Where are we?"

"A lepidopterarium." Ivy said.

"...What's that?" He doesn't attempt to repeat the word.

Ivy glanced at Bruce, "A conservatory, a building made for butterflies, a butterfly house if you will."

Bruce doesn't say anything, he appears to be lost in thought.

"Oh my God...really Bruce? You've never heard of those? Never been to the one in Gotham Central Park?" Ivy was beside herself with shock.

"No...there's a lot of things I haven't been able to experience."

Ivy notices the unhappy expression on Bruce, causing her to sigh and shake her head. "You and me both billionaire boy...Well, you're in for a treat." Ivy stopped in front of 2 double glass doors and she tapped her right heel.

The plants shift on the glass and the doors slide open.

Bruce's mouth dropped.

The walls were made entirely of glass and the ceiling was a spherical structure, revealing Gotham's night sky. Plants of every variation and type filled the room, as well as a multitude of different butterfly species.

The sight itself was the very definition of natural beauty and it literally took Bruce's breath away.

Ivy watched Bruce from the corner of her eye and noticed his stunned expression on his face made her chuckle. "Reach your hand out."

"Hmm?" He glanced at Ivy and then back to the butterflies. Hesitant, he extended his arm and held his hand out as instructed.

A yellow and black butterfly landed on his palm.

"Ivy!" the clone gasped in astonishment.

"Shhh, not too loud now." Ivy looked up as more butterflies floated down from the glass ceiling.

He chuckled with delight as colorful insects landed on his arm, shoulders, and on top of his head. "They're gorgeous," he whispered, "And they tickle." The clone resisted the urge to scratch his right ear where a blue butterfly perched.

Ivy smiled, satisfied with Bruce's words. Truth be told, there wasn't a single soul that entered the lepidopterarium after she took over on it. It was a beautiful structure, perfect for Ivy to cultivate new plant species and help them grow at exceptional rates. Thanks to Wayne Industries, the plants can now move and protect themselves. She almost has the formula down, soon enough her babies will be ready to overrun Gotham City.

"I honestly can't thank you enough for doing this, I had nowhere else to go but that abandoned building!" He said, still looking at the butterfly's.

Ivy had enough of the third person treatment with him.

"Seriously Bruce!, your a billionaire you could buy your own hotel if you haven't already to crash in!" He could hear the seriousness in her voice he thought she should know the truth.

"Ivy, I'm not Bruce Wayne!"

The look on her face was surprised as her eyebrows widened.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She demanded.

"Almost 2 years ago I was created in Indian Hill to be a temporary replacement as Bruce Wayne as he was taken by the order to fulfill a higher purpose, but Selina found out and was going to tell everyone so I pushed her out a window and the next thing I know she comes back trying to kill me, in the process Bruce's Butler Alfred discovered who I really was and I had no choice but to disappear!" He concluded, Ivy was shocked at Bruce's story she wondered if he was still intoxicated.

"Well that's quite the story, but I don't get it you're saying your a clone of Bruce Wayne!" She said surprised, he nodded at her.

"Well that explains off of the third person talk." Ivy commented.

"So you've just been wandering around on the streets keeping hidden, you ever scare anyone thinking you're a freak!" She asked out of her own curiosity.

"Other than Selina who I haven't seen ever again nobody, actually their was this...one girl a friend of Selina's I didn't know her name but she was a redhead like you Ivy!" He explained.

Ivy arched her eyebrow at him as her mind was hinting at who he was talking about.

"But when I asked that girl if she knew who Bruce Wayne was but I scared her and never saw her again!" He said feeling guilty as he looked down and then back to Ivy who was completely still he saw she didn't return the same expression she was in fact shocked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Was this girl wearing a torn dirty...sweater!" Ivy slowly asked as she tried to get the words out.

"Yes!" Looking confused.

"Was it faded light green and black stripes!" She asked sharply as she kept connecting the dots in her head and was starting to figure out who he was talking about.

He look at her almost scared now that she was right.

"...Yeah!"

She finally solved the puzzle he met her before she changed. Ivy knew that Bruce was acting weird that day he spoke to her why he acted like he didn't know Selina, why he asked who Bruce Wayne was.

"Well I don't know how to tell you this but that little girl was me!" Ivy explained straight up.

The look on the clones face was now matching her expression she gave him.

"Wait you were that girl!" He slowly observed her up and down, Ivy could already see that he doubting her age gap she had between her child self and her recently new adult form, Ivy thought she should probably explain her story to.

"I guess your wondering how I aged 8 years older in almost 2 years!" She sighed, he nodded in response.

"Well as it turns out that one of those freaks from Indian Hill who could age people to death by touching them long enough briefly touched me as I fell into a river, I woke up completely different I was older and made me look much more beautiful according to the men that saw me every time..." she said twirling her hair around her finger, "But I got tired of people ignoring me and not taking me seriously so I drank a bunch of toxins and potions and transformed just recently again I didn't age but it made my body poisonous when I cut or scratch people and my poison kills them, and it also made me able to communicate with plants, and made me even more gorgeous!" Ivy concluded, he was still trying to process everything but could understand what feels like to find out your different.

"So how old are you now?" He curiously looked at her.

Ivy arched an eyebrow, "Bout...21 I think, why!" Her face was turning serious, he jumped back a little waving his hands in defense.

"I..I...I was just curious you do look gorgeous as gorgeous as you were when I saw you the first time when you were a girl!" Ivy was in disbelief of what he just said. She heard many men tell her that she was beautiful, but she knew it was just because she changed but nobody ever called her beautiful when she was a kid.

Ivy smiled sweetly, "You really think I was beautiful as a kid!" He lowered his hands and saw her sweet smile as she looked at him.

"Yes you were!" He smiled back at her.

"Thank you!, you know your the first person ever to call me beautiful before I change to an adult!" She kindly told him, noticing he was blushing.

Nether one of them realized it but as they both lost themselves in each other's eyes they didn't realize their hands were entwined both the clone and Ivy smiled as they both felt a spark send chills up both of them as for the first time in a long while the two of them felt happiness again.


End file.
